The Princess Problem (8 page)

“It must have been nice to always know what you were going to do when you grew up.”

“I have to say it was.”

“Any serious girlfriends along the way?” She felt her cheeks warm, because with that question, she gave up any pretense that this wasn’t a date and that she wasn’t interested in him.

“A few.”

“And? Why didn’t you marry one of them?”

He shrugged. “Let’s just say we didn’t suit.”

“Hmm. Your reticence speaks well of you. I’m giving you a point for gentlemanly behavior.”

He looked at her lips, and his own parted. “That’s two points?”

She flushed. “Actually, it’s three. One for helping me out of the car and opening the door to the restaurant.”

He grinned at her. “I’ll open all the doors on the way back, too.”

“Really?” She batted her lashes at him, tipping all the way over into flirt mode and not even caring. “Now you’re going above and beyond.”

They were smiling at each other when the waitress brought their food. After she left, Jonas said, “My turn. Any serious boyfriends?”

“Sure.” She picked up her fork. “I had a high school sweetheart, then dated a guy pretty seriously in college. They’re both married to others now.”

“Was that a good thing or a bad thing?”

She cut into a piece of lasagna, but didn’t eat it. “At the time I was devastated.”

“I have to say I’m glad you’re not married.”

Alicia glanced up, but didn’t know what to say. She was glad, too. She focused on her meal and, fortunately, Jonas turned the discussion to casual topics. As dinner progressed, she knew she was going to kiss him when he dropped her back off at her car and kept glancing at his full, kissable lips, remembering how they’d felt against her own.

He finally set his fork down. “Are you ready to go back to the store?”

She looked down at her half-eaten meal, then back at him. “Yes.”

He lifted a hand in the air. “Waitress?”

The waitress came over, agreed to get the check, and was back in a couple of minutes. She rang up, and boxed their meals, and Jonas tried to help Alicia with her jacket but the flimsy garment tangled and her arms got trapped. She laughed as they both struggled and her arms finally slid into place. She smiled up at him. “Point.”

“That’s four.” His voice rumbled in her ear.

She tilted her face toward his. “So it is.”

He hustled her out and, true to his word, opened the restaurant and car doors before carefully tucking her inside. He looked at her expectantly for a long moment.

She took a shuddering breath and slowly turned her head to look up at him. “Point.”

His lips curved in a slow smile. “That’s five.”

She nodded. “I know.”

He shut the door, hurried around to the driver’s side, slid inside, and took off for her car.

Breathless, she stared out the windshield. He seemed to be in a hurry, and as far as she was concerned, they couldn’t get there quickly enough.

* * *

As Jonas anticipated his kiss with Alicia, he was glad they didn’t have far to drive. That was a big plus as far as he was concerned; it gave Alicia less time to change her mind. Tension seared the air between them and he considered several conversational tidbits but discarded them all. His hands clenched and unclenched on the steering wheel. If he said the wrong thing, she might end up subtracting a point, and he didn’t want to risk it.

Lights flashed behind him and Jonas looked in his rear-view mirror to see a police car on his tail. He glanced at the speedometer and his mouth parted on a groan. He was going eleven miles over the speed limit. He couldn’t even remember the last time he’d gotten pulled over for speeding. He lifted his foot off the accelerator. “Alicia, I blame you for this.”

She glanced at him in surprise. “For what?” As he pulled the car to the side of the road, she looked over her shoulder and laughed. “How is this my fault?”

“You know good and well how it’s your fault,” he said darkly.

She giggled as he lowered the window.

A young female police officer approached, her dark hair pulled back into a bun, her stance wary. She bent slightly to look in the car. “License and registration please, sir.”

He fished out his wallet, retrieved his license, then leaned over Alicia to get his registration out of the glove box. He gave her a narrow-eyed glare. “All your fault,” he whispered, and when she giggled again, he smiled at her, then handed everything to the officer.

“Do you know why I pulled you over?”

Jonas looked at the officer. “I guess I was speeding. I didn’t realize until I saw your lights.”

“Why were you speeding, sir?”

“My girlfriend promised me a kiss when I dropped her off at her car.”

Alicia gasped. “I can’t believe you just said that.” She hissed the words at him.

Jonas’s lips curled, the smile coming easily.

The officer stared at him for a long moment. “Have you had anything to drink, sir?”

“No. Nothing.”

“Hmm.” She flashed a light into the car, at Alicia, then into the backseat. “Wait here. I’ll be back in a moment.”

As soon as she left, Alicia hit him in the shoulder. “I really can’t believe you said that.”

“She’s an officer of the law. Did you want me to lie?” His brows lowered. “You’re not going to minus a point are you?” He felt slightly panicked. “Seriously, I only said it to make you laugh.”

She crossed her arms. “I should,” she said, but looked at his mouth.

He smiled. “But you won’t?”

She shook her head slowly. “No.”

He couldn’t help it. He leaned toward her. “How about a small preview? Just to tide us over?”

Alicia glanced over her shoulder. “She could see us.”

“They can’t put you in jail for kissing. They don’t even give you a ticket.”

“How do you know?”

He leaned down and when she tilted her face, he took a deep breath, satisfaction filling him.

“Okay, folks. That’s enough of that.”

Alicia put a hand to her chest and leaned back into her seat.

The officer passed Jonas a ticket. “Slow down, Romeo. People get hurt and killed every day from speeding.”

“I will, officer. I promise.”

With a last look and a nod, the officer headed back to her car.

Jonas looked at Alicia. “Some things are best savored, anyway.”

Chapter Eight

Jonas continued on and, though he didn’t speed anymore, they got there fast. He pulled to a stop beside her car.

“We’re here,” he said unnecessarily, switching off the ignition, hopping out, and hurrying to open her door.

He felt like a teenager again.

What was it about this girl? She drove him crazy on more levels than he cared to think about. He opened the passenger door and took her hand as she slipped out. Just the feel of her soft skin had him wanting to pull her close. He shut the car door and felt his heart beating hard in his chest. He tried not to stare at her mouth. “Do you have your keys?”

She dug in her purse and extracted them. “Here they are.” When she glanced up, she looked shy, her eyes avoiding his.

She wasn’t thinking about backing out, was she? Changing her mind? She could still minus a point or two for the hungry way he was looking at her or something. His gaze dropped to her mouth. He’d been looking at those lips all night long, remembering their softness against his. If she knew what he was thinking right now, no doubt she’d minus all his points.

When she took a deep breath, he quickly bent down and captured her mouth with his own before she could change her mind. At the touch of her soft lips, he groaned and pulled her into his arms, encircling her small frame, and squeezing her close.

* * *

The touch of his mouth on hers, and the feel of his arms holding her tight, had Alicia going into sensation overload. The way he felt, the way he tasted, even his scent combined to weaken her defenses. Her purse dropped to the ground with a thud, followed by her keys. She raised her arms around his neck and held him close, just for a moment, only for a moment, as she gave in to the pleasure of his lips against hers.

He broke off the kiss and pressed his forehead to hers, his breathing as erratic as her own.

“One more?” he asked.

She couldn’t think. “I don’t know if we--”

“I was really good tonight, remember? I earned all five points.”

She sucked in a breath. “That’s true.”

His mouth captured hers once more, and this time it was her moaning against his dangerously addictive mouth and pressing closer to him.

“Um… excuse me?” The voice jarred, and then a flashlight blazed onto one side of her face. She pulled away from Jonas with a gasp. When the light continued to shine on her, she buried her face against Jonas’s chest, mortified at being caught kissing in the parking lot like a teenager.

Jonas chuckled, and held her close. “Hi, Eddie. Do you mind not shining that in my face?”

The light immediately lowered to the ground. “Mr. Highborn. Sorry about that. I thought you were a couple of teenagers.”

Alicia couldn’t help it. She giggled.

Jonas chuckled. “No need to be sorry. It looks like you’re doing a fine job on guard duty. I was just dropping my date back at her car.”

“All right, then. You two have yourselves a fine evening.”

“You, too.”

Alicia finally pulled away from Jonas to see an older gentleman moving away into the shadows. “I guess I’d better be getting home. Thank you for dinner.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?” He retrieved her boxed dinner, picked up her purse, and found her keys on the ground. He chuckled and handed over her things.

She blushed, glad for the darkness. “Okay. Goodnight.”

Alicia could feel Jonas watching her as she unlocked her car, climbed in, and started it up. She circled around, looked both ways, then merged into the sparse traffic. Once she was out of his line of sight, she breathed in shakily.

Two things were clear. Number one, that man was dangerously addictive. And number two, she didn’t know how she was ever going to face him again, let alone see him tomorrow. She was too embarrassed.

She groaned as she thought about how she’d held him so tight. Maybe she could avoid him for a few days until she got her emotions under control again. She wasn’t sure it would even work, but it was certainly worth a try.

* * *

Alicia went home and called Katie. “You are not going to believe what just happened.”

“You ran over an alligator in the road on the way home?”

“What? No. You are such a weirdo.”

Katie sighed. “I know. The baby is kicking like crazy so I’m telling her stories about animals who cross roads. We just discussed alligators so I have them on the brain.”

“I thought you weren’t going to find out the sex of the baby?”

“I’m not. I’m just trading off genders every other day. If I give this baby up for adoption, I just don’t want to become too attached to her, but calling her an it just seems cruel. I know she can hear me.” Katie sniffed.

“Oh, sweetie. I’m sorry. Are you having a bad day?”

Katie laughed, but there were still tears in her voice. “Life’s just weird, you know? I feel so stupid for getting pregnant at my age. I’m twenty-six. Old enough to know better, and believe it or not, I do know how it happens.”

“I know. I was with you in Mrs. K’s class when we had to learn about the subject. When I refused to believe it, you’re the one who explained it to me, remember?”

Katie laughed again.

“Tell me what’s wrong.”

Katie sighed. “It’s just that I looked up my ex on the computer today and there was a pic of him on the Internet with another girl. They were at a party in California.” She sniffed again.

“That dirtbag. I wish you’d let me contact him and give him a piece of my mind.”

“No. I don’t want that. But you’re a good friend for offering.” She blew her nose. “So guess who else I looked up today? Your boyfriend, the mattress guy. Did you know he’s listed as one of Portland’s most eligible bachelors?”

Alicia tensed. “He is?” She carefully straightened the throw pillows on her couch before sinking down. “I didn’t know that.” She wasn’t surprised exactly. She knew he was rich and good-looking, and now she knew he kissed like a pro. It’s just that she suddenly had to wonder what he was doing with her.

“So what did you call to tell me?” asked Katie.

Alicia sighed. “Only that I got caught making out with one of Portland’s most eligible bachelors in a parking lot tonight.”

“No! Seriously!
Tell me everything.”

So Alicia did. She told about the date, the teasing, the kiss. “What do you think?”

“I think he sounds great. So why the doubt in your voice?”

“I don’t know. I’m having one of those, what-does-a guy-like-that-see-in-a-girl-like-me, moments.”

“The fact that you’re beautiful, fun, and talented aren’t good enough reasons? He’d be lucky to get you. You’re ex’s did such a number on you that you’re having a hard time seeing things clearly.”

Alicia ignored that. “I was thinking I should probably stay away from him and focus on my job.”

“Or you could take my advice and just see where this goes. Do you want to be alone for the rest of her life because you wouldn’t step onto the alligator-infested freeway?”

Alicia laughed. “Baby kicking again?”

“Yes. All I’m saying is take a chance. Just adopt a wait-and-see attitude, why don’t you?”

After a pause, Alicia said, “Did I tell you he lives with his mother?”

“What? Are you serious. Why?”

“When his father died last year, he moved back in.”

“That shows what a sweetie he is.”

“I know, right? So why is he still on the market?”

“I don’t know. Why are
you
still on the market?”

“Um, because I’ve been dumped by the men I’ve been interested in?”

“No. Because you haven’t met the right guy yet. So give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he hasn’t met the right girl. Maybe you’re her, maybe you aren’t, and vice versa. But you’ve got to at least try.”